To listen to audio on Rock Paper Scissors you'll need to Get the Flash Player

Sample Track 1:
"Wenyukela" from Raise Your Spirit Higher -- Wenyukela
Sample Track 2:
"Wenza Ngani?" from Raise Your Spirit Higher -- Wenyukela
Sample Track 3:
"Music Knows No Boundaries" from Raise Your Spirit Higher -- Wenyukela
Buy Recording:
Raise Your Spirit Higher -- Wenyukela
Buy mp3's:
click here
Layer 2
Raise Your Spirit Higher

Click Here to go back.
Media Jones, Raise Your Spirit Higher >>

They have been heard on everything from Paul Simon's Graceland to TV candy commercials, but Ladysmith Black Mambazo fare best singing for themselves.  Led by Joseph Shabalala, this ten man South African ensemble specializes in radiant and soothing acapella harmonies.  Though they sing mostly in Zulu, with English interludes, there's no mistaking Ladysmith's upbeat mission whether celebrating racial harmony in "Black is Beautiful" or promoting seatbelt usage in "Fak' Ibhandle."  While the exuberant call-and-response dynamics recall American gospel, Shabalala's tunes never lose their local flavor, down to a jovial invitation to invest in Africa ("Selingelethu Sonke").  During apartheid, Ladysmith embodied patient, unbending resistance; today, they're the sound of pure joy.   04/01/04
Click Here to go back.